Can you imagine being married for years without having any children and then suddenly growing into an instant family of 6 and finding yourself scrambling to expand your home to accommodate 4 growing children that you never expected to have?

That is just what Lorne and Darlene faced. When their 3 biological nieces, Autumn (12), Raven (10), Danielle (9) and 1 biological nephew, John (4) were going to be placed into foster care by child and family services, Lorne and Darlene stepped forward to foster the children. The couple felt it was important to keep the kids within their own family to maintain some stability and familiarity.

Lorne, a candy maker for over 21 years and Darlene, a new stay-at-home mom have very quickly gone from renting a comfortable 2-bedroom apartment where they lived as a couple, to renting an inadequate house with no bedroom closets, and issues with a flooding basement.

Lorne and Darlene started investigating affordable housing options and were pointed in the direction of Habitat for Humanity. They were encouraged to apply after discussions with the Manitoba Metis Federation, and learning about HFHW’s plans to build 5 homes in each of 2009 and 2010 for Metis families. Darlene has other family members who own Habitat homes, and realized this was a great solution.

As the couple participates in the construction of their new energy-efficient home, they are filled with the joy of knowing that this 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom home will provide even more stability for their foster children, and will help them to build a new life as a strong family unit.